LRT Palembang's Aspirations for Service Improvement Must Be Followed Through

PALEMBANG –The Palembang Integrated Railroad (LRT), South Sumatra, was originally built for the 2018 Asian Games. Now that the Asian sports event is over, the Palembang LRT has become one of the mainstay modes of transportation for the people of Pempek City. Of course, the community needs to be involved in public consultation forums to meet their needs, especially for people with special needs.

Deputy for Public Services at the Ministry of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB) Diah Natalisa explained that the public consultation forum or FKP is not just a formality event. "However, the community's input must be followed up so that improvements in friendly and comfortable transportation can be made even more perfect," said Diah in the FKP on Service Optimization during the Palembang LRT Pandemic, Friday (10/09).

The FKP was held by the South Sumatra Light Railroad Management Center (BPKARSS) as an effort to gather input from the community. This transportation service unit is the result of collaboration between the South Sumatra Provincial Government, Palembang City Government, and the Ministry of Transportation.

Accommodating input from the public can also use the People's Online Aspiration and Complaints Service (LAPOR!) application. The Ministry of Transportation has also been connected to the application. Diah emphasized that the use of this application needs to be widely disseminated so that more and more people know and participate in conveying aspirations and service complaints.

Diah continued, transportation services are expected to be able to provide services with easy accessibility and are inclusive, friendly, and comfortable. During this pandemic, services are of course limited by several policies and adjustments.

Therefore, according to Diah, efforts are needed to increase understanding and increase public trust regarding the implementation of the policy. "It is also necessary to coordinate efforts and ensure that public transportation is safe, comfortable, healthy, and environmentally friendly and strictly enforces health protocols," said Diah.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Directorate General of Railways at the Ministry of Transportation, Zulmafendi, explained that the Palembang LRT has been operating since 2018 and there are 13 stations. Starting from the Airport Station to the Station of the Directorate General of Railways (DJKA) with a track length of 22.4 kilometers.

BPKARSS was formed to manage the facilities and infrastructure of the South Sumatra Light Railroad, then became the Public Service Center (BLU) since 2019. "It is hoped that this BLU will have an excellent service role that is very much needed in providing optimal and excellent service to the community, especially vulnerable groups," explained Zulmafendi. (don/PR of MENPANRB)